GET DAILY SIGNALSHershey's (HSY, $233.41) sued over potentially harmful levels of metals in dark chocolates
The Hershey Company has been sued by a consumer in the U.S. for allegedly selling dark chocolates containing harmful levels of lead and cadmium.
Christopher Lazazzaro, who has filed a class action complaint at a federal court in Central Islip, New York, alleged that Hershey put out “deceptive and misleading” advertising and marketing campaign since it failed to disclose the amounts of lead and cadmium in its dark chocolates. Lazazzaro claimed in the suit that he would not have purchased or would have spent less on Hershey’s Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate, Lily’s Extra Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa and Lily’s Extreme Dark Chocolate 85% had Hershey's disclosed their metals content.
Lazazzaro seeks at least $5 million in damages through the potential class action lawsuit, including at least $500 per transaction under the law in New York.
The lawsuit comes a few weeks after Consumer Reports revealed the results of scientific testing of 28 dark chocolate bars for lead and cadmium. According to the study, while all 28 contained the heavy metals, 23 including chocolates from Dove, Godiva, Lindt and Trader Joe's contained potentially harmful levels of lead, cadmium or both for people who consume one ounce of chocolate a day. The magazine said that Hershey's Special Dark bar and Lily's 70% bar were high in lead, and Lily's 85% bar was high in lead and cadmium.
Contributor
Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.
HSY's MACD Histogram crosses above signal line
The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for HSY turned positive on November 02, 2026. Looking at past instances where HSY's MACD turned positive, the stock continued to rise in 33 of 47 cases over the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 70%.
Technical Analysis (Indicators)
Bullish Trend Analysis
The RSI Indicator points to a transition from a downward trend to an upward trend -- in cases where HSY's RSI Indicator exited the oversold zone, 18 of 36 resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 50%.
The Stochastic Oscillator suggests the stock price trend may be in a reversal from a downward trend to an upward trend. 36 of 59 cases where HSY's Stochastic Oscillator exited the oversold zone resulted in an increase in price. Tickeron's analysis proposes that the odds of a continued upward trend are 61%.
Following a +6.84% 3-day Advance, the price is estimated to grow further. Considering data from situations where HSY advanced for three days, in 192 of 294 cases, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued upward trend are 65%.
The Aroon Indicator entered an Uptrend today. In 116 of 220 cases where HSY Aroon's Indicator entered an Uptrend, the price rose further within the following month. The odds of a continued Uptrend are 53%.
Bearish Trend Analysis
The Momentum Indicator moved below the 0 level on November 03, 2026. You may want to consider selling the stock, shorting the stock, or exploring put options on HSY as a result. In 47 of 77 cases where the Momentum Indicator fell below 0, the stock fell further within the subsequent month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 61%.
HSY moved below its 50-day moving average on November 03, 2026 date and that indicates a change from an upward trend to a downward trend.
Following a 3-day decline, the stock is projected to fall further. Considering past instances where HSY declined for three days, the price rose further in 50 of 62 cases within the following month. The odds of a continued downward trend are 62%.
HSY broke above its upper Bollinger Band on October 22, 2026. This could be a sign that the stock is set to drop as the stock moves back below the upper band and toward the middle band. You may want to consider selling the stock or exploring put options.
Fundamental Analysis (Ratings)
The Tickeron SMR rating for this company is 31 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating very strong sales and a profitable business model. SMR (Sales, Margin, Return on Equity) rating is based on comparative analysis of weighted Sales, Income Margin and Return on Equity values compared against S&P 500 index constituents. The weighted SMR value is a proprietary formula developed by Tickeron and represents an overall profitability measure for a stock.
The Tickeron Price Growth Rating for this company is 50 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating steady price growth. HSY’s price grows at a higher rate over the last 12 months as compared to S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Seasonality Score of 50 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is fair valued in the industry. The Tickeron Seasonality score describes the variance of predictable price changes around the same period every calendar year. These changes can be tied to a specific month, quarter, holiday or vacation period, as well as a meteorological or growing season.
The Tickeron PE Growth Rating for this company is 56 (best 1 - 100 worst), pointing to average earnings growth. The PE Growth rating is based on a comparative analysis of stock PE ratio increase over the last 12 months compared against S&P 500 index constituents.
The Tickeron Valuation Rating of 73 (best 1 - 100 worst) indicates that the company is slightly overvalued in the industry. This rating compares market capitalization estimated by our proprietary formula with the current market capitalization. This rating is based on the following metrics, as compared to industry averages: HSY's P/B Ratio (7.541) is slightly higher than the industry average of (1.518). P/E Ratio (22.742) is within average values for comparable stocks, (15.070). Projected Growth (PEG Ratio) (0.826) is also within normal values, averaging (1.364). Dividend Yield (0.034) settles around the average of (0.165) among similar stocks. P/S Ratio (2.856) is also within normal values, averaging (1.937).
The Tickeron Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for this company is 93 (best 1 - 100 worst), indicating that the returns do not compensate for the risks. HSY’s unstable profits reported over time resulted in significant Drawdowns within these last five years. A stable profit reduces stock drawdown and volatility. The average Profit vs. Risk Rating rating for the industry is 81, placing this stock worse than average.
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General Information
a manufacturer of chocolate, candy, chewing gum, non-confectionery products and snack foods
Industry FoodSpecialtyCandy
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